This invention relates to a method for making a packaged gel refrigerant.
Packaged gel refrigerants have been about for some years, and a good method of making them and a good type of product is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,305 to John C. Shepherd.
However, the product shown in the Shepherd patent has not satisfied some users because they do not wish to require their workers to follow the fairly simple directions on that package and because the workers are not always sufficiently adept. Some workers are sloppy and tend to spill water, and even sometimes spill out the gel or gel base when attempting to practice that process.
The process usually practised with the Shepherd U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,305 called for one end of the bag to be open and for one man to hold the bag while another one poured the water in. After the needed amount of water has been poured in, as indicated by the markers on the bag, the bag is then twisted and shaken, air is removed, and the product is formed to a desired shape and then sealed with a strip wire tie.
Another problem with which the present invention is concerned is that of enabling a user of packaged gel refrigerant to have the gel base (the solid material which is to be mixed with about four to nine times its own weight of water), packaged in one location and then shipped to the location of use, thereby enabling the user to add the water at that location, but to do so without risk of spillage of the materials from the bag. The Shepherd U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,305 does show one way of doing this, but many users have been skeptical of it since the bag is still basically open at one end.
One purpose of the present invention is to provide a system by which the gel base can be shipped dry in a completely sealed bag, and that same bag can later be used for containing the gel refrigerant. The invention includes a system for adding water to an already sealed bag of this kind.
There are several advantages to shipping the bag or product in the powdered form, the most apparent being the savings in shipment costs which result from the fact that from 50-90% of the eventual gel refrigerant is water, and when only the gel base is shipped, the cost of shipping water is saved. An additional advantage arises from the fact that when the product as shipped comprises bags of water-containing gel, the gel is not rigid enough to offer support when shipped in cases stacked more than two and three high without rupturing the bags in the bottom row of cases, thereby causing seepage of gel. As a result, the capabilities of the gel refrigerant industry have hitherto been limited. A third advantage is the freshness of the gel refrigerant when it is made shortly before use.
In addition to what has already been pointed out, other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent when considering the invention in detail.